Laccha pyaaz is a classic Indian onion salad - thinly sliced onion rings, lemon, green chili, and cilantro. A quick side dish for your North Indian meal or tandoori appetizers. It’s the sort of salad you’ll find on the everyday menu!
Traditionally, red onions are cut into almost thread-like shreds. This requires experience and practice. So try as best as you can and slice very thin onion rings for this salad. Many times it may break and you won’t be able to slice the whole ring. That is fine, it happens to me most of the time as well.
In the old days where the joint family was a thing in India. This is one of the tests of a new bride’s culinary ability. The test is how finely and thinly she could slice the onion rings for this onion salad.
These thin slices are called “laccha” in Hindi and Onion is called “pyaaz”. Hence the name pyaaz ka laccha.
To me, this onion salad is refreshing, I love the raw onions with my North Indian dishes. Don’t worry this salad does not has a pungent and strong taste of onions. Because it’s flavor is toned down by soaking into the water and later adding lemon juice and salt.
In fact, I have served this onion salad to quite a few people who aren’t a fan of raw onions and they all loved it!
Step By Step Photo Instructions
1) Slice the onions into thin rings. Soak them in cold water for 15 minutes. If you prefer pungent taste of raw onions, you can skip this step. Then drain all the water.
2) Add chopped green chilies and cilantro.
3) Also, add salt and squeeze lemon (or lime) juice.
4) Mix well.
Serve immediately after mixing everything as the salt draws out the liquid from the onion quite quickly. Also, because of raw onions, it starts to smell strong if stored for later.
Variation: Masala laccha pyaz - add a pinch of red chili powder and a pinch of chaat masala. This variation is perfect as a side for tandoori appetizers.
What To Serve With Laccha Pyaaz?
Onion salad is a wonderfully refreshing salad that pairs exceptionally well with tandoori dishes (like paneer tikka, tandoori aloo, veg kabab), with north Indian meals (like rich curries shahi paneer, paneer butter masala, dal makhani) and with biryani or pulao.
Expert Tips:
- Raw onions have a sharp and pungent taste with a strong smell. So to make it less pungent and to remove the lingering aftertaste, we are soaking the onion rings into the cold water for 15 minutes. If you prefer the strong onion taste then you can skip this step.
- This salad is known for its freshness and crunch. To get the best taste it should be served right away otherwise it becomes watery and onion rings will lose its crunch.
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Indian Onion Salad (Laccha Pyaaz)
Ingredients
- 1 medium or 1 cup Red onion thinly sliced into rings
- 1 cup Water (Chilled/Cold), to soak onion rings
- ½ of small Green chili seeds and stems removed, chopped finely (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon Cilantro or coriander leaves chopped finely
- 1-2 teaspoons Lemon juice or lime juice
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Slice the onions into thin rings. Soak them in cold water for 15 minutes. Then drain all the water.
- Add chopped green chilies, cilantro, salt, and squeeze lemon (or lime) juice.
- Mix well.
- Serve immediately after mixing
Notes
- The addition of green chili is optional. Skip if not preferred spicy.
- Raw onions have a sharp and pungent taste with a strong smell. So to make it less pungent and to remove the lingering aftertaste, we are soaking the onion rings into the cold water for 15 minutes. If you prefer the strong onion taste then you can skip this step.
- Serve immediately after mixing everything as the salt draws out the liquid from the onion quite quickly. Also, because of raw onions, it starts to smell strong if stored for later. Plus, onion loses its crunch.
- To make masala laccha pyaz, add a pinch of red chili powder and a pinch of chaat masala.
- This is a great salad to have on the side of North Indian meals like paneer butter masala, dal makhani because it is so refreshing. It’s a particularly good pairing with tandoori dishes – here are some dishes that I like to serve it with: paneer tikka, tandoori aloo, veg kabab.
Nutrition
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